About WCHQ

Our Vision

The Wisconsin Collaborative for Healthcare Quality (WCHQ) dramatically improves the health and increases the value of healthcare for the people of Wisconsin.

Our Mission

WCHQ publicly reports and brings meaning to performance measurement information that improves the quality and affordability of healthcare in Wisconsin, in turn improving the health of individuals and communities.

Who Participates in WCHQ

WCHQ is a multi-stakeholder, voluntary consortium of Wisconsin organizations, including the health systems, medical groups, clinics, and hospitals in its membership as well as a number of other healthcare stakeholders, such as purchasers, policy and advocacy organizations, government agencies, research institutions and foundations.

How We Advance the WCHQ Mission

WCHQ members and stakeholders join together to measure the quality and affordability of healthcare services in Wisconsin. We publicly report these measurement results through our online Performance & Progress Report.

We see performance measurement and public reporting as vital, dual mechanisms for promoting greater transparency, improvement, efficiency and equity within healthcare.

WCHQ convenes workgroups that plan and carry out initiatives to enhance healthcare quality and affordability. These groups include broad representation from healthcare providers, purchasers, consumers and others. Our members and stakeholders also gather for bi-monthly WCHQ Assembly meetings, in which we discuss developments in performance measurement and share best practices for quality improvement.

How WCHQ Began

In early 2003, chief executives from Wisconsin healthcare provider organizations came together to discuss forming a collaborative. Recognizing the importance of performance measurement, these leaders joined in partnership with healthcare purchasers to create the Wisconsin Collaborative for Healthcare Quality (WCHQ). They started developing a unique set of ambulatory care measures that enable medical groups to collect and report data on all patients in their practice. WCHQ members actively use these measures to drive internal improvement efforts and reach across organizations, sharing their knowledge and learning from the highest performers.

As WCHQ garnered attention for its voluntary public reporting of comparative performance information, The Commonwealth Fund developed a detailed case study of WCHQ's origin and operational tenets. Embracing Accountability analyzes the experiences and perspectives of key WCHQ collaborators, including executives from healthcare provider organizations, purchasing partners, state officials and the WCHQ staff.

Through the generous support of WEA Trust, WCHQ initiated in 2004 its online, interactive Performance & Progress Report. This web-based report allows any individual to access relevant, audited healthcare quality information, while comparing a choice of healthcare providers and performance measures. WEA Trust is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the health and financial security of Wisconsin public school employees and their families. A Board of Trustees — comprised entirely of current and retired public school employees — oversees the operations and serves without financial compensation. As educators, they understand the needs of public school employees, and are able to use that knowledge to ensure that WEA Trust members get high quality and great value in their insurance.